La Chapelle-aux-Saints

A cave site in Correze, central France, where the first recognized Neanderthal burial was discovered on 3 August 1908 by brothers Jean and Amedee Bouyssonie. The adult male skeleton, dating to roughly 50,000 years ago, was intentionally buried in a pit in the cave floor, providing the earliest evidence of mortuary ritual among Neanderthals. The individual died in his 30s despite surviving severe osteoarthritis, tooth loss, and a healed rib fracture, suggesting a social network that supported injured group members. Over 1,000 Mousterian flint tools and fauna including reindeer, horse, and rhinoceros remains were also recovered.